(Encyclopedia) thermite [from Thermit, a trade name], mixture of powdered or granular aluminum metal and powdered iron oxide. When ignited it gives off large amounts of heat. In wartime it has been…
(Encyclopedia) Willard, Emma, 1787–1870, American educator, pioneer in woman's education, b. Emma Hart in Berlin, Conn. She attended and later taught in the local academy and in 1807 took charge of…
(Encyclopedia) Wyeth, Nathaniel Jarvis, 1802–56, American explorer and trader in the far West, b. Cambridge, Mass. A businessman in Boston, he was fired with a desire to go to Oregon by the eloquence…
(Encyclopedia) southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI) or Masters disease, illness characterized by a Lyme disease–like rash that is associated with bite from the Lone Star tick (Amblyomma…
financial speculatorBorn: 4/1/1834Birthplace: Bennington, Vt. Known as the “Barnum of Wall Street” in part for his childhood job in a circus, but more for his flamboyant approach to business, he…
(Encyclopedia) Asbury, FrancisAsbury, Francisăzˈbərē, –bĕ– [key], 1745–1816, Methodist bishop in America, b. England. The Wesleyan conference in London sent him in 1771 as a missionary to America,…
(Encyclopedia) Motion, Sir Andrew Peter, 1952–, English poet and biographer, poet laureate of England (1999–2009), grad. University College, Oxford (B.A., 1974; M.Litt., 1977). He writes poems that…
(Encyclopedia) Rowlandson, ThomasRowlandson, Thomasrōˈləndsən [key], 1756–1827, English caricaturist, b. London. He studied at the Royal Academy and in Paris, but his passion for gambling prevented…
(Encyclopedia) Ware, Henry, 1764–1845, American clergyman, instrumental in the founding of Unitarianism in the United States, b. Sherborn, Mass., grad. Harvard, 1785. As pastor (1787–1805) of the…
